Now that we are at episode 11 of Twin Peaks, the truth behind the return is starting to come together. What this episode surprisingly proves though is just how well David Lynch and Mark Frost have pulled the world back together, and merged the old and the new into what we have today…

This week Dougie (Kyle MacLachlan) has a meeting with Rodney and Bradley Mitchum (Robert Knepper and James Belushi) which has as surprising outcome. Back in Twin Peaks, Sheriff Truman (Robert Forster) and Hawk (Michael Horse) get ready to find the location revealed last week. While all this is going on, the FBI have an interesting encounter with a Woodsman.

If you’ve been watching Twin Peaks and found yourself wishing something would happen, that it is all too slow, this episode proves just how good the previous episodes have been. We are now deep into the world of Twin Peaks where the worlds of Fire Walk with Me, the original series, and the new characters have all merged together and are working so well.

When we see Becky (Amanda Seyfried) chasing after her husband we accept it as just another day in Twin Peaks, even though it is not part of the main story. This of course allows us to see the interaction between Shelly (Madchen Amick) and Bobby (Dana Ashbrook) as her parents. It also provides the show with a reason to have more Harry Dean Stanton on-screen, which is always a good thing. He seems to be stealing the show this season.

Looking at the adventures of Dougie it is interesting to see forces from outside this world pushing the character to where he should be. While people are trying to set him up to be killed, dreams and circumstances work together to make sure that Dougie wins the day again. The final scenes also tease Agent Cooper’s return, with the cherry pie teasingly getting a reaction from him. Dougie’s standout scene this week though really has to be him being led to his boss’s office chasing the coffee.

Another thing we see in the Dougie scene is the return of the old woman he helped win at the slots. Memorable as one of those background characters that David Lynch is able to create, it is a nice call back to see what a success she has made for herself. She also further emphasises how Dougie is something special in the world, which will obviously be important in the future. It is the duality of the two Coopers. One darkly creates evil in the world, while the other brings all that is good.

Episode 11 of Twin Peaks pushes away from some of the humour we’ve seen in previous episodes and brings in the dark side of Twin Peaks. There are no laugh out loud moments, even with Dougie. What we are left with at the end of this episode may be hope that Agent Cooper is closer than ever, but we are still disturbed by an episode full of gore and the evil of humanity, and managed even without having Richard Horne (Eamon Farren) on-screen.

Twin Peaksis a show that is head and shoulders above anything else on television. It is so different in style that it stands out as something different, even if it still manages to be familiar to fans of the original Twin Peaks. Lynch has been given free rein in bringing the show back, and you can see it on screen, and that is what makes it so good.

***** 5/5

Twin Peaks airs in the UK on Sky Atlantic, apparently now on Tuesdays to make way for Game of Thrones. Though it can be watched On Demand on Mondays.